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jayisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
4.5
This surprisingly large collection of short stories really showcased Jemisin’s talent in storytelling and her control in crafting stories from different genres and timelines. Many of these stories aren’t particularly long, yet she managed to breathe so much life into them that made me want to read more about some of these worlds. (I’m also aware that a few of these stories were prototypes—of sorts—for actual novels, which I need to check out!) I was really taken to the pervasive Afrofuturist elements in many of these stories, the way they dreamed for something more.
Like most short story collections, I found some to be more compelling than others, but all-in-all, I know any fan of science fiction/fantasy will be able to find at least two stories that will stick with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Body horror
Moderate: Violence and Animal cruelty
Minor: Misogyny, Classism, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Sexism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Classism, Infertility, Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, and Bullying
Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Child death, Slavery, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Drug use
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I absolutely adored this collection of short science and speculative fiction stories! Some stood out to me or impacted me more than others, but that's just how short story collections go. NK Jemisin is such an excellent writer, and I will continue to read anything by her, even her grocery shopping lists!
My favorites were:
I absolutely adored this collection of short science and speculative fiction stories! Some stood out to me or impacted me more than others, but that's just how short story collections go. NK Jemisin is such an excellent writer, and I will continue to read anything by her, even her grocery shopping lists!
My favorites were:
- The Ones Who Stay and Fight
- The Effluent Engine
- Cloud Dragon Skies
- The Trojan Girl
- The Storyteller's Replacement
- The Brides of Heaven
- The Elevator Dancer
- On the Banks of Riber Lex
- The You Train
I listened to the audiobook and I *highly* recommend that format. All of the narrators (Shayna Small, Gail Nelson-Holgate, Robin Eller, Ron Butler, Kevin Stillwell, Je Nie Fleming, Jeannette Illidge) were fantastic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Gun violence, Animal death, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual content
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a powerful selection of works. Many I wish were longer but most are long enough to keep a reader satisfied. I recommend the audiobook edition but I will be seeking out a print edition to reread slowly and treasure every detail given life upon the page. There are dark topics within the works but they are not done in a graphic or offensive way. Their purpose isn't to jump scare or get a shock reaction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Animal death, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Police brutality, Slavery, and Racial slurs
rnbhargava's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a wonderful collection of short stories by NK Jemisin. The content is thus varied and so are the triggers. There’s a good amount of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, even supernatural horror in this collection. It’s not perfect. Some of the stories are arguably too short, basically the germ of an introduction or an idea. Some others are perhaps slightly plodding, though I enjoyed quite a few of the stories regardless of length.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence
There’s a lot of content warnings across all these stories, I honestly probably missed some. That said, I loved the majority of Jemisin’s shorts in this book and I look forward to reading even more books from her.queergoth_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is my first book by N.K. Jemisin and it was honestly so good. I love the mix of sci-fi and fantasy in this collection and how much variation there was in the types of stories. Definitely going to be one of my favourites from
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Rape
queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, racism, slavery mention, police violence, bullying, suicide, rape mention, child sexual abuse mention, natural disasters
How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin is a collection of her afrofuturist/speculative fiction short stories. Jemisin got the title for this book from one of Janelle Monáe's songs, so this was the perfect way to transition into reading The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe.
All of these stories center Black people and people of color, and Jemisin has so expertly shown us how to include BIPOC into scifi/speculative fiction. She showed us a world that included and adapted for people with disabilities (even though it was done peripherally). She shows us a Utopia while criticizing those who can not conceive of a world without hate and violence. We see stories that clearly reflect some of Jemisin's other work about stone eaters (The Broken Earth trilogy) and cities becoming sentient (The City We Became).
We get some wonderfully unique stories about cooking as a form of alchemy, digital worlds and digital people, alien worlds, winged lizards who bring hurricanes to New Orleans. Like all of Jemisin's work, she hones in on deep and layers themes. She has the kind of writing that I feel like I would only fully understand upon a reread. We get themes on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, who is seen as valuable and who is disposable.
It was refreshing to read something to so complex after reading so much YA. Jemisin gives you a lot to chew on. If you're new to Jemisin, this might be a good place to start. There was only one story I didn't care for, but I blame that on me on being smart enough to comprehend the genius of N.K. Jemisin 😆.
How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin is a collection of her afrofuturist/speculative fiction short stories. Jemisin got the title for this book from one of Janelle Monáe's songs, so this was the perfect way to transition into reading The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe.
All of these stories center Black people and people of color, and Jemisin has so expertly shown us how to include BIPOC into scifi/speculative fiction. She showed us a world that included and adapted for people with disabilities (even though it was done peripherally). She shows us a Utopia while criticizing those who can not conceive of a world without hate and violence. We see stories that clearly reflect some of Jemisin's other work about stone eaters (The Broken Earth trilogy) and cities becoming sentient (The City We Became).
We get some wonderfully unique stories about cooking as a form of alchemy, digital worlds and digital people, alien worlds, winged lizards who bring hurricanes to New Orleans. Like all of Jemisin's work, she hones in on deep and layers themes. She has the kind of writing that I feel like I would only fully understand upon a reread. We get themes on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, who is seen as valuable and who is disposable.
It was refreshing to read something to so complex after reading so much YA. Jemisin gives you a lot to chew on. If you're new to Jemisin, this might be a good place to start. There was only one story I didn't care for, but I blame that on me on being smart enough to comprehend the genius of N.K. Jemisin 😆.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Racism, Bullying, and Racial slurs
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Police brutality
cheye13's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This collection is absolutely amazing. It's not that every story within is necessarily perfect, but as a whole this book is magnificent. The stories themselves are beautiful pieces of art; Jemisin crafts full and distinct new worlds with each piece, giving them the backbones to stand alone and clothing them in beautiful prose. But the care with which the collection was assembled is also noteworthy – the stories transition so well and the pacing of the collection never stagnates. Even the introduction is a good read, equal parts narrative, inspiring, and contextualizing.
–
★★★★★ | The Ones Who Stay and Fight; Red Dirt Witch; L’Alchemista; The Storyteller’s Replacement; The Brides of Heaven; The Evaluators; The Elevator Dancer; Cuisine des Mémoires; The You Train
–
★★★★★ | The Ones Who Stay and Fight; Red Dirt Witch; L’Alchemista; The Storyteller’s Replacement; The Brides of Heaven; The Evaluators; The Elevator Dancer; Cuisine des Mémoires; The You Train
★★★★ | The Effluent Engine; Cloud Dragon Skies; The Trojan Girl; Walking Awake; The Narcomancer; Henosis; Too Many Yesterdays […]
★★★ | The City Born Great; Valedictorian; On the Banks of the River Lex; Stone Hunger; Non-Zero Probabilities; Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints […]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, and Slavery
None of the sensitive content is gratuitous; all is in service to the stories and handled/written sensitively in my opinion.
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